Great Lakes Restoration Initiative helping groups preserve land

A GLRI-backed grant will help preserve forest land on Kelleys Island in Lake Erie. Photo: Derek Jensen

The first Great Lakes Restoration Initiative-backed grants are lining up. Michigan and Ohio announced their plans to use $2.9 million to buy 1,600 acres of Great Lakes coastal wetlands, sand dunes, forests and beaches.

That $2.9 million comes from $4.75 million in GLRI funding funneled through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program. The other $1.8 million will go to Wisconsin for land acquisitions in Houghton Falls and Mashek Creek.

Here’s the breakdown:

• Bete Grise Wetlands Acquisition, Michigan: $1.7 million
• Houghton Falls, Wisconsin: $1.4 million
• Kelleys Island Monagan Road Preserve, Ohio: $476,750
• Mashek Creek Acquisition, Wisconsin: $398,000
• Lake Erie Bluff Preservation Project, Ohio: $732,600

The grants require a 1:1 state match.